SPORTS

Jose Mourinho’s representatives have held talks with Manchester United about replacing Louis van Gaal as manager of the Premier League club, according to reports on Friday. Mourinho has been strongly linked with the Old Trafford post since being sacked by Chelsea in December and the BBC and Manchester Evening News claim discussions have started with a view to the Portuguese ...

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has dismissed media reports that injured striker Daniel Sturridge is unhappy at Anfield and wants to move at the end of the season. The England forward has been plagued by injuries, making 19 appearances last season and six so far this campaign. Sturridge has played only 108 minutes of football since Klopp took over from Brendan ...

Mali scored a last-gasp winner to edge out Ivory Coast 1-0 in an enthralling encounter and reach the African Nations Championship final in Rwanda. Yves Bissoouma struck in the 88th minute, slotting in after Hamidou Sinayoko had headed the ball down. In the first half Ivory Coast’s Essis Aka hit the post with a shot, while Mali’s Mamadou Coulibaly had ...

Gary Neville’s Valencia suffered a humiliating defeat as they were crushed by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp. Luis Suarez scored four goals, while Lionel Messi also helped himself to a hat-trick and Neymar missed a penalty. Valencia’s cause was not helped when defender Shkodran Mustafi was sent off for fouling Messi in ...

Zanaco coach Numamba Numba says they will miss striker Moses Phiri but wished him the best of luck following his recent move to Portugal. Phiri has joined Portuguese third tier club Moura Atletico Clube on a short term loan deal that will see the 22-year-old striker miss Zanaco’s 2016 Confederation Cup campaign when the Lusaka club enters the competition in ...

The Football Association of Zambia (Faz) football season kicks off this month starting with the Samuel Zoom Ndhlovu Charity Shield semi finals on February 20 and the final on March 5. The Samuel Zoom Ndhlovu Charity Shield, whose proceeds are donated by the Republican President to a charity of his choice on behalf of the Football Association of Zambia, marks ...

Jamie Vardy scored twice as Leicester beat Liverpool to stay three points clear at the top of the Premier League. The England striker opened the scoring with a brilliant 25-yard strike over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from Riyad Mahrez’s long ball forward. And he sealed the victory when he turned home Shinji Okazaki’s deflected shot from close range. The Foxes fully ...

English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer. A relatively quiet final day for Europe’s mid-season transfer window saw the biggest deals done by mid-table Premier League ...

African champions Ivory Coast will attempt to keep their momentum going when they face arch-rivals Mali in the African Nations Championship semifinal in Rwanda on Thursday. The Elephants, who have twice failed to go beyond the group stage in the biennial championship, confirmed their place with a stunning 3-0 extra-time win over another West African side Cameroon in the quarterfinals. ...

Everton have signed Senegal forward Oumar Niasse from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in a £13.5m deal. The 25-year-old has 13 goals in 23 appearances for Lokomotiv this season and has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Goodison Park club. “We’re delighted as Oumar is a player we’ve been following for a long time,” said Toffees boss Roberto Martinez. “He brings ...